| Beast of Consciousness; Fubuki's Awakening (Open) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 29 2014, 12:07 PM (604 Views) | |
| Prince Arjuna | Jan 29 2014, 12:07 PM Post #1 |
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Fubuki groaned as she opened her eyes, feeling a discomforting coldness from the cold floor she was lying on. Somehow, she could feel a sharp pain in her head. When she came back to her senses, she found out that she wasn't in her apartment. Instead, she was lying on the floor in a room with poor lighting. Papers and a few objects littered the floor, and if it's not due to the lighting provided by the fluorescent light in the room, she might have stepped on the objects, which would hurt her apparently naked feet. Upon closer inspection, a few scrapes and bruises could be seen on her soles, indicating that she might have walked here barefooted. And she was also wearing her blue tank top and shorts, which she usually wore before going to bed. She was confused by this, because she thought that she should be in her apartment, sleeping soundly in the bed. And due to her clothing, she felt cold. While not to the point of 'freezing cold I'm gonna die and turn into an ice sculpture!', it sure was cold. "Uh... what's happening to me...?" the country girl muttered to herself, looking at her surroundings in confusion. Was she kidnapped? If that's the case, the kidnapper sure chose a wrong victim, because her family wasn't really that rich. And her family wasn't even in Nagashima, so the negotiation for ransom should be next to impossible. And if that's really the case, why did her kidnapper put her in this strange place? "Hello?! Someone? Anyone? Can anyone hear me?!" She heard no response, and the only thing she could hear was the echo of her voice. There's no sign of her kidnapper around here, so perhaps the kidnapper might have left here there to deal with a few stuff, things that a kidnapper would usually do after kidnapping an innocent girl. Now standing on her two feet, Fubuki decided to explore this place for a bit. She was glad that she wasn't restrained or having her hands tied up. Usually, a kidnap victim should be restrained so the victim couldn't escape, so Fubuki thought that the kidnapper might have forgotten to do that right after kidnapping her. Fubuki just sighed in resignation. Just a week after coming to this place, she already got herself involved in this kind of thing. Her big sister might get furious. Thinking that there's no point just chilling at one place, Fubuki decided to move. Due to not having any kind of footwear, she had to be careful to not step on something sharp or dangerous. Despite the lighting provided, Fubuki was still unable to see her way properly. As she walked towards the door, she somehow could hear a noise, or rather a static noise. "Hmm?" she looked behind her to see the source of the noise, but found nothing. "What was that?" she muttered to herself. So, she opened the door and stepped outside. Apparently, there was an empty corridor outside, with even poorer lighting. Seeing no sign of anyone, Fubuki decided to call out for help. "Hello? Anyone here?! Can anyone hear me?! If you are a kidnapper, I want you to know that my family's not rich!!" she cupped her hands to her mouth in an attempt to make her voice louder. She could only hope that her voice wouldn't attract the attention of something dangerous. After all, judging from the appearance of this place, some kind of monsters roaming around wouldn't be unlikely. And she had no idea how right she actually was. She didn't realize it yet, but a few hungry eyes were stalking her from the darkness. The owners of those eyes were bidding their time, waiting for the right moment to jump out of its hiding. For those creatures, the tender flesh of a young girl would make a delicious dinner. |
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| Napalm42 | Jan 29 2014, 03:38 PM Post #2 |
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Tom awoke with a start, as feeling began to creep into his limbs again. They felt like they were made of lead each time he tried to force one to move. He tried to think, but the fogginess in his brain scattered his thoughts. He couldn't hold a thought to save his life. He simply closed his eyes, feeling the back of his head touch a hard surface, apparently the thing that was propping him up. After a few minutes, he started to regain feeling in his hands, popping his eyes open to try to move again. Terrible, terrible idea. The room lurched sickeningly, and Tom fought to keep his stomach in the same place it was accustomed to. After a minute or two, the sensation subsided. He was mobile in the upper body, but his legs still felt like lead. With everything happening, the officer decided it'd be smarter to keep seated and simply have a look around. The room was bathed in half-dead floursecant lights, flickeringly illuminating the surroundings. Across from Tom was an old kitchen counter, fridge, microwave, everything. It all looked like it hadn't been used, much less cleaned in a while. The rest of the place was littered in fallen chairs, overturned tables, and enough paper to write War and Peace. He groaned, forcing his legs to fight gravity and push him back up. "Where the fuck am I? Ugh, I don't need this after goddamn work." he muttered, simply forcing his legs to cooperate again. "I... don't remember any of this. Fuck, okay, you're a cop Tom, handle it like one. What was the last thing you remember doing, take it from the top." He had left the precinct after night beat, alright. They had a meeting which had ran late, and so he had brought his eskrima stuff with him to work so he could go right afterwards. They had class, and then he had been walking home when..... when what? Irritated, the officer kicked one of the chairs across the room with a grunt, sitting on one of the creaky tables that was still upright. "C'mon, there's obviously more to this. No one at the dojo hates me enough to drug me, and if anyone had tried there'd be a bunch of angry people with training sticks to beat the crap outta them." Tom sighed, willing himself to think harder. Suddenly, his expression flashed into surprise. "No. I remember, the girl. That chick shuffling about in the alleys. I went to go see if she was alright and wanted a ride home or something and then..." The images of the encounter flashed through his brain. "That goddamn butterfly." Tom thought some more, he hadn't done any drugs, nor was he on any medication. It was possible the girl was a bait for passerbys and then someone hiding used... something to drug him. No, didn't make any sense. Crimes here were never that elaborate. The officer sighed again, standing up. "I dunno about any of this bullshit. Instead of trying to figure it out, I'll just go ahead and find the way out." He took a moment to dust off his duty slacks and duty shirt, pushing the sleeves of his NYPD bomber jacket up to his elbows. Judging from the state of this place, he'd likely need to get his hands dirty. He walked over to the door on the other side of the room, forcing it open with his shoulder when the knob proved too old to function. He walked in a hallway stretching out to either side of him. It was deathly quiet, except for the incessant buzzing of the florescent lamps that still worked. Tom decided to hang a left and keep going until something changed. He walked for what seemed like minutes, almost falling into the hypnotic rhythm of his own footsteps until he caught something in the corner of his eye. His head snapped up reflexively, trying to get a good look, but nothing was there. He suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, feeling as if there were several pairs of eyes on the back of his head. Alright, so I'm not alone then." He instinctively reached for the handle of his pistol, swiping at empty air. Of course, it was in his bag, he couldn't display it off duty. He vaguely considered reaching inside his messenger bag for it, but his hands froze a few inches away from the open flap. If he fired it, he'd have to report the use of ammunition to his superiors. If I try to explain this away, I'll prol'y be booted for being a user, or at least be put on testing for the rest of my service. Forget it. He let his hand fall, reaching into his coat a moment later. From inside, he produced a pair of thin gloves, putting them on and adjusting them to fit. Testing that the rubber grips were still good, he reached into his coat again, producing the crescent shaped balaisong that he was skilled in. Better safe than sorry. He continued along until noise caught his ears again. Tom stopped dead in his tracks, pausing to listen. Words? Definitely someone talking, a girl maybe. He began walking in their direction, flipping the balaisong into a reverse grip. "Hello? Anyone there? Nagashima Police, make yourself known now, damnit!" |
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| Prince Arjuna | Jan 29 2014, 09:25 PM Post #3 |
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As Fubuki walked, she could hear someone's voice, apparently in English. Then that voice spoke in Japanese, and Fubuki could hear 'Nagashima Police' from the voice. Police? Yeah, it would be good! Now that there's a policeman here, she wouldn't have to worry about her being kidnapped again! She would be safe, and her family wouldn't have to worry about paying ransom money anymore. Alright, all she needed to do was to find this police guy so that she would be saved. "Is someone there?! Is that the police?!" Fubuki shouted, cupping her hands to her mouth. She ignored the coldness (she's wearing a tank top and a pair of shorts) as she walked towards the supposed direction of the voice. She was glad, really glad that there's someone to be relied on. She would be safe! Once she managed to get out of this place, she wouldn't have to worry any- Wait, was it just her did she just hear a strange noise right behind her? It sounded like an animal breathing heavily. She remembered watching that in television about predators letting out this growling noise while stalking their preys. Fubuki gulped, not liking the indication of this. So, she slowly turned behind and hoped that it was just her imagination. Well, guess what, she wasn't really that good with her imagination, because as she turned back, she saw three dark creatures, baring their sharp teeth as they looked at the young girl. Each of those creatures resembled a wolf, only bigger and meaner than the ones she saw from books and televisions. Saliva could be seen trickling down from their maws, and their glowing red eyes were looking at Fubuki, and the girl knew that they were looking at their dinner. "Umm..." trembling in fear, Fubuki took a few steps back as she raised both hands. "G-good doggie... s-sit and stay still, o-okay?" She tried her best to keep the situation under control by trying to talk to the wolves. "S-see? I'm not really that delicious, y'know? I'm skinny and probably tastes awful. Y-you'll get indigestion if y-you try to eat me, s-see?" she said nervously while quivering in fear. Apparently, those wolves didn't understand her language as they pounced towards her. "Eeeeek!!! Kyaaaahh!! Nooooo!! Help meeee!!!" and so, Fubuki immediately ran as fast as she could, and the monstrous wolves went to chase after her. "Someone!! Save meeeeee!!" she cried as she ran away from the pursuing wolves. As she ran, she could hear a static noise inside her head before she heard a voice. "A beast shall not fear a beast..." Fubuki could feel a strange sensation as that voice rang inside her head. Then, her vision turned white as a sudden burst of black miasma emerged out of nowhere. After that, her vision reverted back to normal, and she felt strange. She couldn't describe it well, but it felt like having something being forcefully pulled out of her body. Above her was a glowing figure clad in crimson clothing, wielding a pair of wicked-looking curved swords. Seeing the figure hovering above Fubuki, the monsters stopped pursuing. "I am your guardian, your other self. I am the Beast of Alaya, the will of the unconscious. My blades shall be yours..." Now that Fubuki could take a good look on the figure above her, she found out that it was a woman with white hair, clad in flowing crimson clothes, wielding a pair of Chinese curved twin swords. She was dazed, and if she didn't do anything, the wolves would stop gawking and continue to attack the girl. "B-beast... of Alaya...?" Fubuki muttered. Edited by Prince Arjuna, Feb 9 2014, 05:08 AM.
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| Napalm42 | Jan 30 2014, 12:09 PM Post #4 |
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The same voice reached Tom's ears in the distance, re-orienting him and sending him down another hallway. "Last warning, identify yourself!" Before he could open is mouth to speak again, the same voice erupted in a scream, with snarls accompanying it. "Shit!" The police officer took off at a dead run, stumbling across corners as he tried to reach the source of the voice, after a few turns he was hit with a sudden sensation of realization. In his mind, he felt as if several fixed positions suddenly came into existence. No matter which way he moved, they remained in place, though they were moving in his direction. The officer rounded the last corner, the feeling of proximity growing as he made contact with the points in the sensation. The scene he saw was bewildering. Three massive direwolves were encircling the same girl he had seen previously. That wasn't what was bewildering. Tom was frozen in place as he looked up at the strange woman wielding swords. None of this was making any sense, and his brain scrambled to rationalize what he was seeing. "SHOW NO FEAR, FOR THE STRENGTH OF THY WILL SHALL CARRY YOU TO VICTORY." Tom's perception seemed to slow, as an unfamiliar voice rang out in his head. "W-Wha?" "SHOW NO FEAR, SUBJUGATE THY FOES." The voice resounded inside his head, the weight of authority carried with it. He still didn't know what to do, but the situation was obvious. If he didn't make a move, that girl would be torn apart, he had to act now. Tom pushed off, charging forward at the rightmost direwolf. He presented the balaisong, aligning it with his shoulder as he slammed into the beast. |
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| Prince Arjuna | Jan 30 2014, 08:55 PM Post #5 |
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Still in confusion, Fubuki didn't do anything as the wolves prepared to pounced on the girl. They might rip her into pieces so that they could have their dinner, but they were interrupted by the sudden appearance of the policeman who charged forward to attack one of the wolves using his knife. Fubuku managed to return back to her senses and immediately realized what should be done here. The presence of the floating woman above her somehow gave her this strange feeling. She felt... safe, protected. She knew that even though she didn't understand what's going on here, that woman would protect her from any dangers that might show up. One of the wolves that Tom attacked snarled in pain as his knife pierced through its hide. In retaliation, the wolf tried to slam its body against the policeman. Seeing this, Fubuki immediately focused on that wolf, thinking to save the man from anything that could happen to him. The presence of the floating woman gave her comfort and strength, and with that, she was confident that she might be able to do something to save him. "I am thou... and thou art I..." the woman spoke. "I am the Beast of Alaya, the Guardian of Humanity..." and so, she brandished her swords before it zoomed towards the wolf, delivering a slash onto it. One blade sliced through the wolf's body, and the wolf shrieked in agony. Trail of black blood could be seen as the Beast of Alaya sliced the sword onto the Shadow. "A-amazing!" Fubuki couldn't hide her awe as she saw the ethereal figure of her guardian attacking the monstrous wolf before her. She could feel strength surging through her body. She never knew that she had this kind of power. With this, she believed that she would be able to do things that she previously couldn't do. She could even save people. Then the other wolves seemed to be preparing themselves to attack as well. One of them went to attack Fubuki, and the other went to attack the other guy. Fubuki could barely avoid the attack as its claw managed to injure her thigh. "Ahh!" she cried in pain. It hurt, and she grimaced as she tried to stop the bleeding by putting her hand on the wound that was on her thigh. |
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| Napalm42 | Jan 31 2014, 07:38 PM Post #6 |
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Claws teared through the front of Tom's shirt, cutting through and piercing the flesh beneath. Although it hurt, it hurt significantly less then he had expected, almost as if he had been only hit by a bat, and less of a gouging tear. He pressed his opening, slamming the long balaisong up and into its jaw. It recoiled as the officer withdrew the knife, the blade slick with dark blood. As the officer fought for both of their lives, a growing feeling of righteous fury began to boil over in his stomach. "I AM THOU, THOU ART I. I EMBODY THY WILL, THY STRENGTH, AND THE POWER OF THY SOUL. FROM THIS DAY FORTH, I WILL BE THY SHIELD AGAINST THY FOES, AND THY BLADE TO STRIKE AT THEM." The voice from before rang out in his head again, steadily increasing in volume as Tom continued to fend off attacks. "CALL FOR ME, AND I WILL ANSWER. I AM BOTH SERVANT AND MASTER." As the voice reached a climax of volume, Tom's vision whited out. In the space of his mind's eye, was a familiar picture. Halloween, back when he was 7. The same familiar apartment back in New York, Tom and Jerry on the TV set, and his brother by the door dressed in a Spartacus costume. He was holding the Green Lantern mask that Tom needed, helping fix the nylon string that had popped loose earlier. "All set kiddo, here, I'll put it on." Tom stepped forward as his brother crouched down to his height. Danny extended his arms to his brother, pulling the nylon string out to put it onto his head. When Tom blinked, the scene changed. He was back in his street clothes, as he had been earlier. Danny was much older, back in his duty uniform the last time he had seen him. The mask in his hands had changed also, a large one in the shape of a helmet. The mask slid down over his face and there was almost a resonance as his brother stepped back. "Go save the world, tiger." Danny's voice grew faint as he faded out of sight, replaced by the real world and a gathering blue mist. A singular word entered Tom's mind, and he shouted it forth will all of the power he could muster. "ARGUS!" The blue mist flared, and suddenly the hallways was filled with the sound of machinery and arcing electricity as Tom's Persona manifested. A huge mechanical being, with floating limbs tethered by arcing electricity. Clad in shimmering bronze of a bygone era, but armed with an arcing baton and riot shield, the giant automaton turned it's dispassionate head towards the wolves as Tom did, nearly boiling over inside from the rush of power he was feeling. He would not suffer those things another moment on this Earth. |
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| Prince Arjuna | Jan 31 2014, 10:46 PM Post #7 |
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Seeing the appearance of the mechanical Persona, the wolves seemed intimidated. Now that there were two Persona-users with awakened Personae, those Shadows did what was the best for them; flee. Apparently, those monsters were amongst the low-leveled, unimpressive ones that one could find in this place. In short, they were just the slimes that were shaped like wolves. Seeing that the wolves had left, Fubuki was relieved. The scratch mark on her thigh stung a bit, but the injury wasn't really that serious. She could treat it later once they made it out of this place. One question remained, though. Where were they, actually? This place didn't seem to be inhabited by people, and judging from the appearance of the monstrous wolves earlier, it could be said that there were monsters lurking somewhere in the darkness, waiting for the right moment to pounce their unsuspecting victims. Fubuki looked up and realized that the Beast of Alaya, the ethereal guardian above her started to fade away. Despite disappearing, Fubuki still could feel the guardian's presence within her. The presence was enough to make her feel stronger and more confident. She felt like she was wearing a mask. Then, she realized that she really did wear a mask when that guardian showed up. That mask immediately dissipated into crimson particles right after the guardian disappeared. But first, Fubuki needed to speak to the policeman first. "Umm... hello?" she said to the policeman. "Who are you? And where are we?" she asked. Why were they here? What was this place? Actually, there were a lot of questions that she wanted to be answered, but let's just keep it slow so that the poor girl didn't break her mind. A lot of things had happened, right? |
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| Napalm42 | Jan 31 2014, 11:27 PM Post #8 |
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As the wolves fled, every muscle fiber in the officer's body screamed for release, to chase down and end those pitiful creatures. The voice behind him, however, convinced him his attention was needed elsewhere. Tom flipped the knife in his hand back into a reverse grip, turning to face the girl as the sights and sounds that accompanied Argus faded. Even though the rush had died, part of it still felt like it was awake, fluttering in his chest, the feeling gave him peace, somehow. Realizing his mask had not dissipated, he pulled it off of his face, looking down at it. It looked very much like a Greek death mask, but there was no real time to linger on it. Tom shoved it into his bag with his free hand, looking over the girl briefly as he spoke. "Oh, uh, yeah. Officer Tom Harding, NPD. I remember you, you were that girl I found stumbling around before that damn butterfly dragged us here." He glanced around, taking in his surroundings. "Honestly, I'm not sure where this place is, and besides those things I'unno if anyone else is in here." He reached into his pocket a moment, sighing when he looked over his shirt. There goes another 3,000 yen on a shirt, joy. He produced his smartphone, unlocking it and raising it to the ceiling. "Dead. Perfect." He shoved it back into his pocket, thinking. After a moment, he spoke up. "Well, no time to be surprised. I'm not sure what I just saw, or what any of this crap is, but I do know we've got to get back outside and you back to see a doctor 'er something." Truthfully, the way his undershirt stuck to his chest didn't bode too well, but all things considered, he didn't feel as bad as he thought he should. The feeling in his chest seemed to expand, and that same familiar sense of direction flared back to life. This time though, it's insistency came with a mental guidemap of some sort, he felt like he knew what he could do. "Well, let's see if this crazy bullshit will help." He reproduced the mask, shoving it back onto his face. The same blue mist began to gather around his feet, he decided that rather than go with the fury of attack, maybe a different approach would help. I want to see. I want to see. "Argus." With a similar euphoric feeling of release and a flare of the aura around him, Argus flashed back into being, accompanied by the electric crackle of his main core. The mechanized Persona slammed its riot shield into the ground before him, the set of night-visionesque goggles on its riot helmet descending over its eyes. The lenses cycled and whirred, and Tom's vision suddenly flew up to that of the Persona. The inside of his mask lit up like a head's up display, Argus matching the movements of his own head. Above and below were more hallways and floors still, as far as he could see. He couldn't make out very much, but there were still flickers of movement in the corners of things that hinted they weren't entirely alone. The officer pulled the mask off again, Argus once again dissapearing. "Apparently, my uh....guy can help me see things. There's floors above and below us, and nothing much else. The spaces between the walls are solid, so putting two and two together either means a very, very thick building, or we're underground." |
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| Prince Arjuna | Feb 1 2014, 01:35 AM Post #9 |
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"Oh, is that so?" Fubuki looked at the policeman. "My name is Fubuki Fujioka..." she frowned when Tom said that he found her stumbling around. She should be at her apartment, going to sleep. She was even wearing her nightwear for this. There's no way she could walk around like that, barefooted, unless she was sleepwalking. She didn't remember having a case of sleepwalking before, though. "That's strange. I should be at my apartment, not walking around. And you said that a butterfly dragged us here. What do you mean by that?" she asked. Now that he mentioned it, she vividly remembered the sight of a glowing, golden butterfly in her bedroom. She was about to go to sleep when she saw that insect fluttering in the air. It seemed to be leaving golden trail of dusts at it flew. Then, everything after that was blank. She couldn't remember anything beyond that, until she woke up here, in this abandoned facility. Perhaps that butterfly did do something to her, causing her to follow the butterfly without her knowing it. Then, Fubuki groaned. Just thinking about it was enough to make the country girl groaned in frustration. The more she remembered, the more confused she was. "Umm... actually, what is that thing?" Fubuki asked, referring to the thing that Tom summoned. She also had hers, which was named Beast of Alaya. Perhaps she got this guardian entity right after being guided by that golden butterfly into this place. And it might be the same for the policeman as well. "Argus? Is that its name?" she asked, looking at the guardian entity that the policeman summoned before it disappeared. Apparently, Tom's guardian entity was able to sense things that a normal human being couldn't normally sense. Just like a radar. Fubuki briefly wondered if hers could do the same. "Well, as much as I want that kind of ability, I don't think I can do that, sweetie," said a voice inside her head. Fubuki almost yelped, but immediately calmed down when she figured out that it was Beast of Alaya that was talking inside her head. Apparently, even without materializing itself, her guardian entity could speak to her. "S-so... yours can speak?" Fubuki asked Tom. She wanted to know whether his could speak as well. "That thing of yours inside your head, I mean," she added. "Sweetie, the correct term is 'Persona'..." Beast of Alaya told Fubuki. "I am you, you are me. I am your mask that you use to face hardships in life, your Persona..." "Persona?" Fubuki blinked several times. So the guardian entity was called Persona, huh? Well, there were certainly a lot of things that the country girl didn't understand just yet, but at least she's starting to know a few things. A good development, yeah? |
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| Napalm42 | Feb 1 2014, 10:19 AM Post #10 |
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"Fubuki, eh? Got it. Tom turned, facing the direction opposite from where the wolves came. "We should get moving, c'mon." Tom struck up pace, looking over his shoulder occasionally to keep polite conversation. "At least for me, I saw a butterfly before I KO'ed and ended up here." She fell silent, and he kept his newfound feelings open, searching for stairs. "Your guess is as good as mine, I'm just as confused. Dunno what the hell's going on, but I guess we'll find out." Tom was given pause at her next question. "Uh, yeah. I guess it's name is Argus. Dunno what it means. He talks, yeah, really loud. Not casually chatty though, it seems." Tom strained to listen mentally, but all that greeted him was silence beside his own thoughts. At the mention of the word Persona, however, it spoke again. "I AM THOU, AND THOU ART I. I AM THE MASK USED TO FACE STRIFE AND INJUSTICE, THINE PERSONA. CALL MY NAME, AND I SHALL ANSWER, FOR I AM BOTH SERVANT AND MASTER." Tom blinked once, his rational mind still forcing control over devoting any time to really processing what was going on. "Uh yeah, I guess they're called Personas. I'd like to think I'm really just dreaming, but those things hit hard enough to convince me of how real this is." he paused to zip up the NYPD bomber jacket, covering the rends in his shirt. "How're you doin'?" |
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